Cafe~Cafe [open-all-time]

Fera’s brows furrowed as she took in the next round of Adolpha’s explanations. She wanted to make sure she remembered all this; it all seemed too important to take lightly or forget. Anything with the word ‘battle’ in it had to be dangerous. “So,” Fera started trying to sum it all up in her mind. “Its your job to attack and defend, and mine to take the damage in your stead?”[i/] It didn’t really seem fair, and suddenly the term Sacrifice seemed very fitting. The Fighters seemed to have the lucky end of the deal, they didn’t appear to have to give up anything from what Adolpha had said.

When Adolpha mentioned she’d never been in a spell battle before, Fera didn’t know to be relieved or worried. Relieved that she wasn’t the only beginner in this thing. Or worried that the person who was going to be her only line of defense had no experience when it came to actually spell battling. It was a little too late for second thoughts now though, she’d already given her word that she would do it. And Fera wasn’t the type to back out of something till she saw it all the way through. At her Fighter’s mention of other units Fera thought back to the hospital and the strange red-headed girl she’d met there. Could she have been rival unit? It seemed plausible. This brought another question to mind. [i]“What happens if another unit shows up when were not together?” Surely they weren’t expected to stick together all the time. And Fera didn’t want anyone catching her alone when she was visiting her mother. Would they go as far as to hurt her mother? The very thought of it made Fera’s blood boil.

Again her Fighter’s words made her think back to the red-head. If she was another unit, then she might have more information that she could use. She had seemed friendly enough, if not a little strange, so she might help. And then there was the matter of this so called school. Fera certainly hadn’t attended it, heck she’d never eve attended a real school till she started college. But a whole school dedicated to teaching Fighters and Sacrifices was a little daunting. Just how many other units were there? And why did they even exist at all, was there some greater purpose they were trying to achieve? The thought that everyone did this just because was a little irritating. Fighting for no rational reason was senseless in Fera’s mind. Adolpha had made it more or less clear that she didn’t know what the reason was, so Fera didn’t bother asking her. Perhaps she would find out as she learned more and gained experience in these so called battles. “Those are all the questions I have, for now at least.” A heavy sigh slipped past her lips and she slouched back in her chair, her eyes closing briefly.

Evangi Magdalene wrote:

[For some reason I thought we had a clothing store of some sort, maybe I'll make one.]
Evangi frowned in disappointment with herself, Suki was freezing and she felt useless. Evangi grabbed Suki by the hand and pulled her back into the cafe. Shivering herself she rubbed her arms to keep warm. "We need to get you warm, I thought I saw a simple clothing shop. Think you can handle a short walk, I don't think its far from here. You need a coat, so I figure we could get one for you, of course now would be the best time seeing thats its really cold." Evangi shivered again, she rubs her hands together and then har arms once more, feeling goose bumps. "Unless you know of a place near by, If you really want to go to the park I recommend we get some winter coats first atleast."

[let me know if you want me to make that shop, I'll do it when i get back from work, Evangi is looking for work regardless. ^_^]

Suki smiled and nodded. She giggled lightly and looked around the even more crowded cafe. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She felt incredibly tired all of a sudden. Suki turned her cell on and checked it for messages. 8 from her mother was what the screen said. She chuckled under her breath. Mom must have realised she wasn't home. She called her voicemail and listened to one of the voicemails. "Where in the world are you Suki?! You are not in the house so you must have left. Did you lie to me about being sick?! You are in big trouble when I find you!" Her mom yelled in the phone. Suki sighed. Great. Now Mom is going to ground me... Just what I need. She thought as she turned off her cell once more. She turned to Evangi. "Shall we go now?" She asked.

Fera’s eyes fell once again upon Adolpha’s business card which still rested in her hands. The two of them had come from such different worlds, and yet they’d been partnered together. Their destines entwined since before either of them were born. Had it all been random selection, or did they share some common trait that brought them together? There were so many unanswered questions that flowed through her mind, and they left her feeling exasperated and exhausted. Stifling back a yawn Fera fished her phone out of her jacket pocket to check the time. Flipping it open she noticed that she had a missed call from her father, probably calling to check if she made it to the hospital and to see how her mother was doing. Fera should call him back, but she wasn’t in the mood for another one of their strained conversations. The two of them hardly talked anymore. Their main source of communication now was via sticky notes stuck to the front of the fridge with a smiley face magnet.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes Fera snapped her phone shut and sat it down on the table, and as if on cue the screen lit up displaying an incoming call from her father, it vibrated on the table with a quiet humming sound but Fera ignored it. She’d call him back later. It was cruel of her to be that way, but at the moment she just couldn’t bring herself to care. There were too many other things she had to worry about. Reaching out she clicked a button on the side of her phone and immediately her phone stopped ringing as the call was sent straight to her voicemail. Then Fera realized that she’d never given Adolpha her own number, what if her Fighter needed to get a hold of her? Thankfully the Sacrifice always carried a writing utensil of some kind on her person, now paper was a different matter. Glancing around she immediately spotted an unused napkin. Not as fancy as a business card but it would do. Fera quickly scribbled her number down on the napkin then slid it across the table towards Adolpha. “Here’s my number,” she said simply settling back into her seat once again.

Fera didn’t bother to hide the relieved sigh that escaped her, her mother would be safe for the most part. As long as no truly desperate units happened upon her. But she didn’t let her hopes get up, there would always be that slim chance that such a unit would cross paths with her. “Why does a Fighter even need a Sacrifice? Besides taking the damage what are they good for?” She had to ask, she wanted to know why she was putting her life on the line.

(( I added color to the speaking bits, because I realized it might be hard to read if its all one big blob of white font. ))

Adolpha watched the napkin move across the table as she grabbed her coat, slipping her arms into the sleeves before reaching for the napkin with one hand and picking up her purse with the other. Her fingers rolled the napkin, more to give her a moment to think as she tucked the number into a inner pocket of her coat.

“As I said, I'm your sword and shield.” She felt her body tense up, most her who she was desiring to reject the truth of the matter. Still, she felt just as strong the desire to respond. Such were the chains that bound her, and she may as well grow used to the weight. “A Fighter can fight alone, but it takes an exceptional Fighter, skilled and experienced, to do so. At the end of the day, a Fighter is meant to be a tool, completely loyal to the user despite any emotional bond. So, it is your force, your will and your belief in me that will determine the ultimate strength of my spells. Only you can wield me as I was born to be used. We may be Tameless, but even we must submit to that truth.”

The words out of her mouth, Adolpha felt a soft shiver run up her spine, recalling the struggle she'd dealt with in accepting her status as a Fighter when she saw how her sister was abused. How was she supposed to submit to the will of another? What if her Sacrifice decided to treat her as nothing but a tool? How the hell was she supposed to deal with that? A smack and some discussion later, Adolpha realized that, at the end of the day, she still had control over her mind. As long as that remained her own, she had nothing to fear but her own weakness. And she was not weak. She was...

“But with that said, I intend to be your friend, if you will let me. Only time will tell how close we become. You know where to find me.”

As she turned away, she waved a hand in farewell, her mind already brooding over the dredge of long ignored memories and the reality of her solidified status as Fighter. She needed a drink.

[Adolpha has left City Centre: Cafe~Cafe and has moved to Night Clubs: Club Midnight]

Fera didn’t miss the near reluctance in her Fighter’s voice as she answered the last of her questions. So that was it. That was the reason Sacrifices put themselves in danger, for absolute power over their Fighter. The concept of being bent to the will of another, like a slave, was unconscionable to Fera. But absently Fera found herself wondering just to what extent a Sacrifices orders would be followed? She shook her head, as if trying to physically force the thought from her mind. She wouldn’t make Adolpha do anything she didn’t want to. Besides hadn’t Adolpha said that the effectiveness of her spells depended on their bond, or something like that? Fera didn’t want to risk her Fighter ‘accidentally’ letting a spell hit her just because she was being bossy.

A small nod of her head and a slight wave of the hand was her only response to her Fighter’s departure. Fera rose from her chair and stretched her arms over her had and was rewarded with the cracking of her stiff spine. One hand reached to grab her coat and the other reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet. Laying a good sized tip (Fera had been a waitress once and she knew how crappy tips could be sometimes) on the table she slipped into her coat and made sure to snatch her phone off the table.

Briefly as she left the café Fera wondered what she should do now, but with a wide yawn she decided that it was probably time to head home. It had been a stressful day, and the thought of a shower and her bed sounded heavenly. Besides she had to visit her mother in the morning.

{Fera has left City Centre: Café~Café and is headed Home: Fera’s Humble Abode.}

Rockin_Skinnies wrote:

Suki smiled and nodded. She giggled lightly and looked around the even more crowded cafe. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She felt incredibly tired all of a sudden. Suki turned her cell on and checked it for messages. 8 from her mother was what the screen said. She chuckled under her breath. Mom must have realised she wasn't home. She called her voicemail and listened to one of the voicemails. "Where in the world are you Suki?! You are not in the house so you must have left. Did you lie to me about being sick?! You are in big trouble when I find you!" Her mom yelled in the phone. Suki sighed. Great. Now Mom is going to ground me... Just what I need. She thought as she turned off her cell once more. She turned to Evangi. "Shall we go now?" She asked.

"Yes, we shall head out then, I'm sorry for the delay."
Slightly disappointed in her self, Evangi decided to just push forward and hope for the best. Her sense of directions wasn't to bad but she didn't want Ms. Suki to catch a cold.
She nodded in agreement with Suki, opening the door once again and walking down the road, she wasn't completely sure where the store was. She wouldnt have notice it if the sun didnt reflexed off the sign, giving her a small sparkle from the corner of her eye. She would have walked right by the shop earlier without even noticing it. It wasn't a huge building, nor was the outside design was screaming for attention from any passerbyers. More so it was an older small wooden building that if anyone notice it made you smile warmly to yourself as it greeted you with its gentle modest design.
Evangi pace quickened, one arm wrapped around her waist holding her elbow, her glaze darting from left to right, hoping she wouldnt miss the shop nor that she went the wrong way. Please be around here, its to damn cold to be outside like this. She shivered to herself. I should have had a car at the least.

[Evangi has left Cafe~Cafe and is heading to Fashion of the Seaons]

Tsukiyoko sighed as she sat down at a free table next to the window. The cafe had just opened for the day and most people would be here getting breakfast of some sort. Not Tsu, nope she had stayed out all night with her sacrifice Ayame in the maze like Back Alleys.

She yawned slightly as a smiling waitress brought her a menu to look over which Tsu accepted gratefully. As she browsed the contents, she couldn't help but get lost in her thoughts of last night and the "homework" that she assigned by said sacrifice. How in the world did one cast spells without speaking? In all her admittedly limited training she had been certain that the Fighter had to speak in order for the spell to work so how was she going to cast a spell without sound?

Tsu had no idea where to begin but she wasn't going to give up. It wasn't her style and she wasn't about to start quiting now. She smiled and gave the kind waitress her order as well as the menu. But first things first. She would some breakfast and go home to sleep. Tsu didn't have to work today so after she completed some work for her university classes then she would get to work on solving the mystery of how to cast a silent spell.

After all, she wanted to make Ayame proud of her and finding a way to cast one would go a long way towards making that particular goal a reality.

Natsumi was walking through town after finishing with classes, she decided to to go somewhere to get something to eat before she went home. Chewing on gum and scratching her ears she thought "lets see what would be a good place to eat i dont want anything fancy just something simple." she thought some more and saw a cafe " this should be a good place to eat." She went in and saw that it was crowded "wow this place is crowded i even see some of my class mates in here." Natsumi saw an empty spot and sat there. A waitress walked upped to her with a menu in had and gave it to her and asked "may i take your order?" Natsumi looked at the menu and it had some good things on it that looked really good "yes please i would like a cup of ice tea with a strawberry cake and a small basket of fries please" "okay ill be right back with your order" "thank you" As natsumi waited for her food she took out her phone and texted her friends and listening to her ipod.